December 9, 2005
By kgw.com and AP Staff
KGW-TV
VANCOUVER, Wash. -- A small quake, magnitude 2.8, Friday morning caused a rockfall at Mount St. Helens that stirred up a dust plume visible from Portland.
Photo: USGS geologist Mike Poland walks with a bag of equipment near the main crater of Mount St. Helens after setting up a GPS device at right.
USGS geologist Mike Poland walks with a bag of equipment near the main crater of Mount St. Helens after setting up a GPS device at right.
It's typical behavior for the volcano, where magma has been pushing into the crater for more than a year, building a lava dome, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Mount St. Helens rumbled back to life in September of 2004 after years of quiet.
In October, a flow of molten rock reached the surface, marking a renewal of dome-building activity that had stoppped in 1986.
The volcano's mighty 1980 eruption killed 57 people, flattened forests and sent a river of hot mud and ash down the Toutle River Valley.
USGS and the University of Washington continue to monitor the mountain. Scientists say a more explosive eruption, possibly dropping ash within a 10-mile radius of the crater, is possible at any time.
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